Chapter 45: Tightness of the link between the past marker and the verb

Feature information for this chapter can be found in feature 45.

1. Introduction

This feature asks how tightly combined the overt past marker and the verb form are, especially which elements (if any) may intervene between the past marker and the verb.

If a language has an overt perfective past marker as well as an overt imperfective past marker, we take into account only the past marker which is used in imperfective contexts (typically with stative predicates to denote past and with nonstative predicates to denote past progressive or past habitual).

This chapter parallels Chapter 46 on the tightness of the link between the progressive marker and the verb.

2. The values

For this feature, we distinguish seven values:

Affix13
Particle, nothing can intervene4
Particle, only grammatical markers can intervene17
Particle, a few lexical items may intervene22
Particle, open-class items may intervene2
Particle, clause-second position1
No overt past marker exists16
Representation:75

Value 1 (the past marker is an affix) occurs in four Portuguese-based languages (Cape Verdean Creole of Brava, Cape Verdean Creole of Santiago, Korlai, Sri Lanka Portuguese), in two English-based languages (African American English, Singlish), in three Bantu-based languages (Fanakalo, Kikongo-Kituba, Lingala), as well as in Media Lengua, Michif, Sri Lankan Malay, and Mixed Ma’a/Mbugu.

(1)
He crossed the street yesterday.
(2)
Poɖiyaas
children
sudu
all
aka-ntu
that-loc
mee
foc
ya-nasa,
pst-be.born
aka
that
kaaza-ntu.
house-loc
The children were all born there, in that house.
(3)
Mina
1sg
buk-ile
see-pst
yena:
3sg
yena
3sg
gate
ant
khona
cop
lapha.
there
I saw him: he was there.
(4)
Ki-da
what-acc
azi-ndo
do-subord
chaiku-mu-rka-ngi?
tire-cis-pst-2sg
What did you do to get so tired?
(5)
Anak
child
nasi
rice
si-makan.
pst-eat
The child ate rice.

Value 2 (the past marker is a particle, and nothing can intervene) only occurs in four languages (Diu Indo-Portuguese, Nicaraguan Creole English, Trinidad Creole, and Reunion Creole). Note that in Chapter 46 (on the tightness between the progressive marker and the verb), the same value 2 is the most widespread value (31 languages), and this would corroborate Bybee’s (1985: 33-35) hypothesis that aspect is located more closely to the verb than tense.

(6)
Ali
there
nɔs
1pl
uki
what
tiŋ
pst.ipfv
brĩka?
play
What were we playing there?
(7)
Joan
Joan
harikien
hurricane
did
pst
bos
bust
opm
open
di
def.art
biich.
beach
Hurricane Joan destroyed the entire beach.

The dividing line between an affix and a particle which does not allow for an element to intervene between it and the verb is not always clear-cut. This means that, for some of the languages with value 2, value 1 might be more adequate.

Value 3 (the past marker is a particle, only grammatical markers may intervene) occurs in nine English-based, in three Ibero-Romance-based, in one French-based, in two Dutch-based, and in two Arabic-based languages. In these languages, other TAM markers and negators are reported to intervene between the past marker and the verb.

(8)
Effi
if
a
3sg
ben
pst
jeri,
hear
a
3sg
ben
pst
sa
fut
komm.
come
If he had heard, he would have come.
(9)
Dyiabeza
day.already
poxodul
people
bi
pst
ska
prog
laba
wash
apotose.
water.lake.dem
Formerly, people used to wash in this lake.
(10)
M
1sg
t
pst
ap
prog
boukannen
cook.over.wood.fire
manyòk.
manioc
I was cooking manioc over a wood fire.
(11)
En-andə
a-other
nashi
nation
a
pst
kā
compl
kō
come
fo
for
figití
fight
mi
with
sinə.
3pl
Another people had come to fight with them.
(12)
ɛk
1sg
wa
pst
sa
irr
kutɛ
catch.pfv
en
one
ar
or
twe
two
fan
from
eni
3pl
an
and
tem
tame
eni
3pl
I would have caught one or two of them and tamed them.
(13)
Ú
3sg
kan
pst
g-wónusi
prog-speak
morú.
Moru
He was speaking Moru.

Value 4 (the past marker is a particle, and a few lexical items may intervene) occurs in eleven English-based languages, in five Iberian-based languages, in six French-based languages, and in the bilingual mixed language Gurindji Kriol. In these languages, adverbs (especially time adverbs), and object pronouns are reported to occur between the past marker and the verb. Note that object pronouns only occur in Guinea-Bissau Kriyol, whose past marker follows the verb (in contrast to the other languages exhibiting this feature, whose past markers precede the verb).

(14)
Na
in
Olánda,
Holland
Ailton
Ailton
táva
pst.ipfv
only
trubaiá.
work
While in Holland, Ailton only worked.
(15)
À
1sg
bin
pst
jost
just
prog
go.
go
I had just been going.
(16)
Ganes
Ganesh
ti
pst
pe
prog
aṅkor
still
travay.
work
Ganesh was still working.
(17)
I
3sg
bin
pst
til
still
faind-im
find-tr
nyanuny
3sg
Mummy
mother
na
loc
dat
the
yapakayi-ngku.
small-erg
It still found its mother, the little one did.

Value 5 (the past marker is a particle, and open-class items may intervene) only occurs in Casamancese Creole and in Gullah:

(18)
Antu
before
k-i
rel-3sg
na
fut
febursé,
fall.ill
i
3sg
ta
hab
korenté
drive
karu
car
baŋ.
pst
Before he fell ill, he used to drive cars.

Value 6 (particle, clause-second position) only pertains to Afrikaans. Afrikaans has a past auxiliary, het, which is strictly adjacent if occurring in non-finite contexts; if it occurs in finite sentences, it occupies a clause-second position, and therefore many items may intervene between het and the verb, as in the following example:

(19)
Hy
3sg
het
pst
dit
it
gister
yesterday
vir
obj
sy
poss.3sg
broer
brother
ge-wys.
ptcp-show
He showed it to his brother yesterday.

Value 7 (no overt past marker) occurs in five Ibero-Romance-based languages (Batavia Creole, Cavite Chabacano, Papiá Kristang, Ternate Chabacano, Zamboanga Chabacano), in two English-based languages (Bislama, Ghanaian Pidgin English), in two Malay-based languages (Ambon Malay, Singapore Bazaar Malay), as well as in Tayo, in Chinese Pidgin Russian, in Chinuk Wawa, in Sango, in Pidgin Hawaiian, in Pidgin Hindustani, and in Yimas-Arafundi Pidgin.

Out of these 16 languages, 10 are purely aspectual languages (see Chapter 49 on tense-aspect systems, value 1). Value 7 of this chapter and value 1 of Chapter 49 are related, since purely aspectual systems lack a past tense marker. Note that perfective aspect markers do not count as past markers in this context.